Free Web NovelChapter 23: The Door He Must Not Open
"Where am I?"
Silas had no idea how long he had been asleep. When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself in a place he had never seen before.
The room was somewhat narrow compared to the suite he had recently acquired, yet there was something strangely familiar about it. In a way, it reminded him of the small room where he had spent most of his life at the orphanage.
Faint green walls surrounded him beneath a spotless white ceiling illuminated by bright lights. He lay on a bed that looked suspiciously similar to a hospital bed, and a brief glance around the room quickly confirmed his suspicion.
Standing near his bedside was a group of stern-looking adults.
Silas did not recognise any of them, but the mutations visible across their bodies made it easy to identify them as Enhancers. They looked fierce, and the cold scrutiny in their eyes filled him with unease.
"You are in the academy’s infirmary."
The voice came from the direction of the half-open door. As it echoed through the room, the teachers stepped aside, allowing an old man to walk in. It was Dean Carlos. Gone was the broad smile he had worn during the introduction ceremony.
"Can you remember what happened two days ago?"
The question struck Silas like a bolt of lightning. The dam restraining his memories shattered instantly. He recalled the intruders, the fight, the bloodshed, and above all, the terrifying existence that had seized control of his body.
Torrents of memories, emotions, and conflicting thoughts surged through him all at once, overwhelming his mind before he had any chance to process them. Judging from the look on his face, the dean and the teachers immediately understood that he remembered everything.
"As long as you remember," Carlos said calmly, "tell us everything you can recall."
Silas blinked, struggling to organise the chaos inside his head.
"I remember entering my dorm and taking a bath..." he began slowly. "Then a group of intruders broke in."
Since Carlos had given him no time to gather his thoughts, Silas simply narrated the events at a measured pace. There was no need to hesitate; the existence of Shadowheart could never be revealed. But that would prove to be quite tricky if he didn’t find a way to solve a particular dilemma.
"Do you remember how many there were?" Carlos asked.
"Six. Five hunters and one mage."
"Correct."
The subtle confirmation told Silas that a thorough investigation had already taken place. Considering he had apparently been unconscious for two days, that was hardly surprising.
"Did you kill them?"
There it was, the dilemma he had anticipated. If he concealed Shadowheart and the truth behind his abilities, then this question would become the greatest inconsistency in the entire incident.
Six Enhancers had died; five of them had been killed with his daggers. Silas was sure the dean and teachers around already knew about that. Trying to explain that away would not be easy.
’But not impossible.’
Silas blinked and put on the most bewildered expression he could manage.
"Sir, it was my dorm. They were the ones trying to kill me."
He allowed confusion to colour his voice, carefully laying the foundation for the lie he had come up with right at the spot.
"I know that," Carlos replied, narrowing his eyes. "That isn’t what I’m asking."
The dean studied him for a moment before continuing.
"The six intruders were found dead inside your dorm after it burned to the ground. I’m curious how a Buffer managed to kill five D-rank hunters and a C-rank mage."
He made no effort to hide his suspicions. And yet, Silas remained unfazed.
"All I know is that someone appeared and helped me."
This was the little twist he settled on to cover up the truth. And then he instantly followed it with a natural act, as his gaze shifted from one teacher to another.
"Wasn’t it one of you?"
Silence fell over the room. The teachers exchanged glances without speaking, but the tension between them became palpable. Silas suppressed the urge to smile.
It was the perfect answer.
If they denied it, they would have to explain how a student had nearly been murdered inside the academy without intervention. If they agreed, Carlos would lose his leverage.
"Are you sure a teacher appeared to help you?"
Yet Carlos wasn’t the type to get easily fooled.
"There wasn’t a single teacher close to your dorm at the time of the attack."
’Shit!’
Silas was already feeling the pressure, but he didn’t let a single speck of worry leak onto his face. Instead, he met the serious gaze of Carlos with calm and steady eyes of his own.
"I can’t tell if he was a teacher or not," Silas slowly said, "but if he wasn’t a teacher, then who could he be? He must be a teacher."
"Hmm, that logic sounds solid, but it still lacks evidence."
Carlos kept glaring at Silas, as if he were reading directly through his thoughts. Silas didn’t know what else he could say, and as nervous as he was, he still clung to his act of calmness and stuck to silence.
The exchange lasted for few more seconds, that made Silas feel beads of sweat on the palm of his hands.
"In that case," the dean said after a pause, glancing at the teachers, "we’ll continue investigating this mysterious individual you mentioned."
He turned back toward Silas. And the latter inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.
"Do you have any idea why they targeted you?"
"Maybe because I’m Lisan Al-Gaia?"
Silas casually answered, as this was the most glaring point of hatred attached to his identity. Since he became an Enhancer, almost all the trouble that happened to him was brought by being a Lisan Al-Gaia.
"That’s what I suspected."
A strange smile appeared on the dean’s face.
"After all, you weren’t the only Lisan Al-Gaia student attacked that night. Another one is currently resting in this infirmary as well." freewebnovёl.ƈom
Silas froze.
The possibility that the attack had been coordinated against another Lisan Al-Gaia had never crossed his mind. Even when he had offered the excuse, he had merely assumed it sounded plausible.
"Who?" he asked instinctively.
Carlos simply shook his head. Instead, he leaned closer until only Silas could hear him.
"I know you’re lying about who killed those Enhancers," the dean whispered. "Your daggers were covered in their blood, and the wounds on their bodies matched them perfectly."
Silas’s heart skipped a beat. Then Carlos said something even more unexpected.
"But let’s keep that between the two of us."
His eyes narrowed.
"Make sure I never have a reason to change my mind."
He didn’t wait for an answer as he stood straight and turned toward the teachers.
"Expand the investigation. The attackers in both incidents were students of this academy. Dig into everything connected to them."
His expression hardened.
"I want answers on my desk by tomorrow."
Without another word, he left the room. Then the teachers followed after him, and soon the door closed behind the last of them.
"Phew..."
The moment Silas was certain he was alone, he released a long breath and allowed the mask to slip from his face. Meeting the dean immediately after waking had been the last thing he had expected.
Unfortunately, the relief did not last, as his expression gradually darkened. He recalled everything that happened that night.
Slowly, Silas raised both hands to his face, unconsciously mimicking the same gesture Shadowheart had made after taking control of his body. He remembered the excitement that he felt while the Shadowheart kept killing his enemies. He recalled the fierce smile over his face that lingered for a long time, the laughing, the amusement.
For a second there, Silas felt his lips tilted upward, in a way he had never used before. The next instant, he slapped his face, inhaled deeply, while his emotions returned to normal and his weird smile vanished.
"That thing..."
His voice trembled. Fear lingered in every word. At this moment, Silas neither knew nor cared what Shadowheart truly was. All he felt was terror; all he cared about was how to not feel like that again.
"I’ll admit it..." he muttered quietly. "It fought far better than I ever could. But overall... that thing is nothing but terrible news."
Conflicting emotions tore through him as he remembered exactly how Shadowheart had fought. It had slaughtered six enemies, including opponents stronger and far more experienced than himself, yet it had never displayed any miraculous hidden ability or overwhelming power.
It had simply used Raven, his Raven ability. It used daggers, his daggers.
’Hell, it used even a broken wooden bath brush to kill them.’
Silas inwardly cursed, shook his head, as it felt as laughable as pathetic. It had pushed Silas’s body to limits he had never imagined possible.
But those were the only advantages. Everything else about that entity sent cold shivers racing down his spine.
"If I don’t want to feel like that again, I need to fight back, to resist and stop its control... But... How?"
Silas sat on the bed, alone in the tight room, while his mind drifted through everything he had learned about that thing. He recalled what Gaia told him, and he tried to decipher what it meant. Yet no matter how many times he replayed Gaia’s words in his head, he failed to make any progress.
"Why do you need to be this vague? Is it time to be wise?"
He shouted into thin air, as if he were reprimanding the entity called Gaia. Yet he knew frustration wouldn’t help him, wouldn’t bring him the answers he wanted. Yet in the middle of his despair, a thought flashed past his mind.
"Wait..." he whispered, "if I can’t fight it, then how about not letting it appear in the first place?"
The thought that looked crazy at first became appealing the more he thought about it.
"It sleeps inside my Time Mind World."
Silas lowered his head, recalling how that thing took over his body in the first place. It floated in peace and silence until he stepped into the Time Mind World.
"Until I figure out how to deal with it... how to resist its control and fight back against its influence... I won’t enter that place again."
He clenched his fists.
"I’ll act as though the Time Mind World never existed."
It was an extreme decision, but so was the threat he faced. The mere thought of stepping back into that world filled him with dread. He refused to risk awakening that monster again.
As for finding a way to oppose Shadowheart... He had no idea where to begin. His thoughts remained tangled, his mind too chaotic to arrive at any meaningful conclusion.
Even after making his decision, Silas felt no relief. He had merely postponed one crisis and replaced it with another, perhaps even more difficult to overcome.
He had built his entire combat style around the Time Mind World. It allowed him to test possibilities, minimise mistakes, and secure victory through preparation.
Now, he had to abandon it willingly. From now on, he would have to fight without it. For some reason, the thought made him feel as though he were walking into every future battle blindfolded.
’Even so... fighting blind is better than fighting without a sane mind.’
He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. And determination slowly buried the fear. But deep inside, another thought lingered.
’What if one day I was forced to choose between death and opening that door again?’
